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RABBI Joseph Hample

OFFICERS

President Ed Gerson Immediate Past Pres. Adam Rosefsky 1st VP TBD 2nd VP Robert Klein Treasurer Linda Herbst Secretary Laura Cohen

BOARD

Alison Bass Laura Cohen Ed Gerson Linda Herbst Yoav Kaddar Bob Klein Rusty Mall Barry Pallay Jaimie Russell Merle Stolzenberg Robyn Temple-Smolkin

COMMITTEES

House Marty Sippin Education Jaimie Russell Social Action Susan Brown Israel Committee Art Jacknowitz CARE Merle Stolzenberg Ritual Committee Rich Cohen Newsletter Sylvia Cooper Kitchen TBD

ASSOCIATES Sisterhood Rosa Becker Hillel Rich Gutmann Hadassah Merle Stolzenberg WV Holocaust Ed. Center Edith Levy

INSIDE HIGHLIGHTS Page 2,3 From Rabbi Joe Page 4 Education Page 5 Mazal Tov Shabbat photos Page 6 Mazal Tov Shabbat lists Faith’s Farewell Concert Page 7 Hanukkah Festivities Page 8 Poetry/Hadassah Page 9 President’s Message/ Schmooz with Jewz Book Launch Page 10 Community Sharing Page 11 Jan-Feb Calendar Page 12 Ed new photo of TOL

Jan-Feb 2017

those that hold fast to it. Tevet/Shevat/Adar- 5777

It is a Tree of Life to

Morgantown, West Virginia

What’s New in Sunday and

Hebrew School? Margalit Persing

The weeks since the High Holi-days have seen continuing study of Mitzvot (Jewish values) related to ap-proaching holidays, Mitzvot regarding how to treat travelers, the sick and fam-ily, and Bnai Mitzvah preparation for winter and early spring Bnai Mitzvot. The Sunday morning service, with To-rah and Haftarah blessings and sum-maries are generally well attended, de-spite the encroaching winter travel woes. Each week brings a new mitzvah brought to life with a game, skit or ser-mon from the older classes. Class time from 10:45-noon fo-cuses on age appropriate applications of the weekly Mitzvah. The younger clas-ses enjoy time with Rabbi Joe from 11:30-12:00 focusing on games that allow energy release (!) and reinforce-ment of the topic. Recent pre-Hanukkah games included a race

matching found Hebrew dreidel letters to those on the whiteboard and potato bowling! The oldest class has been dealing with prayers and blessings as one of our members prepares for her Jan 7 Bat Mitzvah. Besides reviewing prayers and blessings, the class has been revis-ing prayers to reflect their own individ-ual hopes and concerns. Three Hebrew classes also contin-ue Sundays from 12:15-1:15. Each class works at its level using Hebrew words from the weekly lesson as well as teacher resources and appropriate books. Several students have recently pronounced Hebrew classes “fun”, a good sign! Religious School is on hiatus until Jan 8, 2017. The Bat Mitzvah of Ra-chel Works is Friday, Jan 6 (Kabbalat Shabbat) and Jan 7 (Torah Service and Kiddush luncheon). All are welcome. Weekly Sunday School infor-mation is published in the Blast. Ser-vices are open to all, whether accompa-nied by a child or not! See you in the new year!

TREE OF LIFE ANNUAL MEETING

3:00 pm January 29, 2017 Agenda and reports available to

members-in-good standing at 2:30 pm. Additional information in future eNews issues.

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2 From Rabbi Joe

Rabbi Hample

Judaism as Mystery

Some say Judaism is too easy, as summed up in the all-purpose holi-day overview: “They tried to kill us, we won, let’s eat.” Others say Judaism is too hard: all those books, all those rules, all those layers of commentary. You can make the case for either view. But what intrigues me most is when both things pertain, when the teaching is deceptively simple but the meaning is endlessly elusive. Take the legend of Choni the Circle Drawer, from the Mishnah (Ta’anit 3:8). As the story goes, des-perate farmers in a drought asked the saintly Choni to pray for precipitation. Choni drew a circle on the ground and told God, I won’t leave this circle till it rains. The lightest of sprinkles began: but Choni said no, stronger than that. A violent downpour began: but Choni said no, gentler than that. At last it began raining in the normal way. I doubt this really happened, but that’s beside the point. True or not, what are we supposed to learn from this yarn? That God needs a friend to horse around with? How does one qualify for this peculiar honor? Another baffling narrative has Moses impatiently awaiting the Torah at Sinai while God is still attaching the crowns to the letters (Talmud M’nachot 29b). Advised that someday Akiva will find deep meaning in these flourishes of calligraphy, Moses expresses a wish to meet this Akiva and is permitted a jour-ney into the future. Their encounter provides closure if not comprehension, an awareness that Torah can grow with-out changing its essence. But what is that essence, exactly? Moses is never sure, nor are we. Pirkei Avot, the rabbinic max-ims, offers many a puzzling adage. For example, “Be the tail among lions and not the head among foxes” (Pirkei Avot 4:20). In modern terms, the sages are advising us to be a little fish in a big

pond: but why is this preferable? Per-haps it develops humility, but since when is that a Jewish objective? Humility is invoked in the Silent Prayer, but ambiguously. The text says, V ’limkal’lai nafshi tiddom, “may my soul be silent to those who insult me” … m’herah hafer atzatam v’kalkel machashavtam, “speedily de-feat their design and subvert their inten-tion.” This is a kind of bait-and-switch, an attempt to fake God out with a show of patience, closely followed by an ap-peal for retribution. Do we recite this text to train ourselves in endurance, to wallow in righteous indignation, to cul-tivate a Godlike forbearance, or to arouse Divine wrath? It’s a recipe with contrasting ingredients, sweet and bit-ter, spicy and oily. The consumer alone can say which flavor predominates. The righteous, perhaps, have no adversaries. In old age Herbert Hoover boasted, I haven’t an enemy in the world; I outlived the sons-of-bitches. But most of us do have rivals, detractors, less-favorite acquaintances. The Torah requires a measure of com-passion even for our foes: we are sup-posed to spare their livestock (Exodus 23:4-5) and their orchards (Deuteronomy 20:19); we must feed them in hunger and water them in thirst (Proverbs 25:21). What are the param-eters of this difficult commandment? Do you invite the folks you hate to your dinner parties? This must be one of Judaism’s most widely flouted precepts. It suggests the witticism, “Rules are made to be broken.” When someone dies, Jews will say Baruch dayyan ha-emet, “Blessed is the true Judge,” showing that we (reluctantly) accept God’s decision: but do we? Another funerary cliché is Zi-chronam livrachah, “May their memory be a blessing” (based on Proverbs 10:7). Does this mean that the dead should remember us in the hereafter, or that we should remember them? Or does it mean that the children we bless should follow in the footsteps of the parents we remember? All of the above, probably. A tricky formula from the lit-urgy is Baruch … shomea t’fillah, “Blessed is the One who hears prayer.” Every worshiper has had the experience of praying for something that never arrived. Did God fail to hear that pray-

er? Who’s to say God hears any prayer – or heeds any prayer? The expression is a leap of faith, a bit of guilt-tripping directed heavenward, or perhaps a smidgen of snark. God, if you’re listen-ing, prove it!

For my money, the best Jewish paradox is Torah lishmah, “Torah for its own sake.” The Talmud (P’sachim 50b) says to learn Torah even lo lish-mah (“not for its own sake”); perhaps eventually you will learn it lishmah (“for its own sake”). But what exactly is Torah’s “sake”? Perhaps it is the fulfillment of the commandments; or on the other hand, the mere pleasure of knowing what they are. Are we speak-ing here of the theoretical vs. the practi-cal? Which is which?

Wintry Mix

Winter is a tough time of year: harsh weather, cabin fever, a monoto-nous diet. When I was a kid, we often visited my grandparents in Buffalo in the winter. As you know, Buffalo is one of the snowiest cities in America. Those vacations were spent indoors. To my amusement, a verse from Job (37:6) implies that the world is made of snow. The text reads: “God says to the snow, be on earth.” That’s the usual translation, but the Hebrew wording is hevé aretz, literally “be earth.” The Talmud (N’darim 50a) recounts that the impoverished Akiva married in winter and they had to sleep on straw in a barn. Even for those of us with comfortable accommodations, winter should be a season of looking inward, a meditation on the completed harvest and an anticipation of the immi-nent planting. Perhaps the Four Worlds of Kabbalah – Asiyyah (Action), Y’tzirah (Formation), B’ri’ah (Creation), and Atzilut (Emanation) – can provide a template for our winter reflections. I am riffing here on the prayer method of Isaac Luria, the fa-mous 16th-century mystic. Winter starts with the cold, hard world of Action, as embodied in a day of solemn musing called Tzom Tevet, January 8 this year. We read Isaiah 55: “As the rain and snow fall from heaven and do not return, but soak the earth and make it bring forth vege-tation... so is the word that issues from

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3 From Rabbi Joe

My mouth: it does not come back to Me unfulfilled.” What is God trying to tell us with the sleet and slush? Probably that the physical universe is essential, but it is not all there is. The School of Hillel teaches that the earth was made before the heaven, just as the first floor of a house is constructed before the sec-ond (Talmud Chagigah 12a). I can’t comment on the astronomical credibility of this analysis, but it is certainly true that the individual human being must discover earth before reaching up to heaven. The step from Action to For-mation is the longest leg of the Four Worlds journey. It is challenging to look at ordinary reality and perceive the waves and currents and conflicting in-fluences that defined its present shape. A mansion presupposes a blueprint, a dinner presupposes a recipe, a baby pre-supposes a fertilized egg: but quirks and surprises in gestation give the thing its personality and uniqueness. Unless we can learn to appreciate the intricacy of God’s processes, our spiritual quest stagnates. And that is why we take more than a month to wrap our minds around Formation. The gentler world of For-mation is suggested by Shabbat Shirah, the sabbath of song, February 11 this year. On Shabbat Shirah we read the song of the Red Sea (Exodus 15) and the song of Deborah (Judges 5). Song is what gives form and beauty to our en-counter with God. In Isaac Luria’s sys-tem, Formation corresponds to the litur-gical segment called P’sukei d’Zimra (chapters of song), i.e. the Psalms sec-tion of morning worship. We will know it is spring when the birds sing in the mornings. Perhaps on Shabbat Shirah, we ourselves may try to sing the spring-time a little closer. The step from Formation to Creation is relatively short. It is not difficult to grasp that behind God’s mechanisms lie the ingredients they draw upon. We are getting closer now to the ultimate meaning of our experi-ence. Accordingly, we need only a couple of weeks to comprehend Crea-tion. The primordial world of Creation is betokened by Shabbat Sh’kalim, the sabbath of contributions, February 25 this year. On Shabbat Sh’kalim we read of a poll tax in the time of Moses

(Exodus 30:11-16) and a fundraising drive under King Jehoash (II Kings 12). This is the tangible in service to the intangible, the very purpose of “in the beginning.” As we read in Pirkei Avot (3:21), the rabbinic maxims: Ein ke-mach, ein Torah; no dough, no Torah. Shabbat Sh’kalim should remind us that material things exist to enable our reli-gious ascent. You need bricks to build that stairway to heaven. The ultimate level of Emana-tion is attained with Rosh Chodesh (the new moon) of Adar, February 26-27 this year. The Talmud (Ta’anit 29a) says, “When Adar begins we increase our joy”; that’s because Adar is the month of Purim. As on every Rosh Chodesh, we pray that God may remember our ancestors’ merits in hastening our re-demption. To bless the new moon at the proper time is like greeting the Divine Presence (Talmud Sanhedrin 42a). Though less prominent in modern Juda-ism (except in feminist circles), the new moon is a joyous Biblical holiday (Numbers 28:11, 14) with no special restrictions. It is everything you want Judaism to be: empowering, not encum-bering.

The Four Worlds concept in-forms the celebration for the New Year of Trees, which this year coincides with Shabbat Shirah, February 11. The New Year of Trees is deduced from Leviticus 19:23-25, which regulates fruit picking by the age of the tree. A seder (ritual dinner) for the New Year of Trees de-ploys different tree-based foods to signi-fy each of the Four Worlds. Emanation, the most ethereal of the four, cannot be represented by fruit or nuts, but only by wine. A toast to this highest of cosmic planes! By winter’s end, we will all be elevated enough to embrace it.

What I’ve Learned from You

A rabbi learns from his congre-gation, or he isn’t a rabbi for long. From student pulpits I learned to respect local custom, to explain things in con-temporary terms, to make it fun for the kids. From hospital and jail internships I learned the art of listening: specifical-ly, listening for feelings. From part-time jobs I learned that each congregant has different preferences and expecta-

tions, and the rabbi is supposed to find the common denominator. I’ve served Tree of Life Con-gregation four and a half years, and I’ve learned most of all from you. I’ve learned rituals cherished by this congre-gation, like Mazzal Tov Shabbat, spot-lighting everyone with a birthday, anni-versary, or other happy occasion in the current month. Frankly, I don’t know how you observed Mazzal Tov Shabbat before I arrived. My approach is to of-fer a couple of Jewish legends about birthdays and anniversaries, then salute the guests of honor with the Priestly Blessing from the Torah (Numbers 6:24-26). I hope that’s all right. I’ve learned to adapt lifecycle occasions to meet unique requirements. Naming ceremonies, for example, were historically done for newborns, whether at circumcision (for boys) or on the first Shabbat morning of life (for girls). Dur-ing the proceedings, the baby was held by the sandak (family elder, such as a grandparent), and was given a Hebrew moniker. But in Morgantown I’ve done naming ceremonies for older children, sometimes combined with b’nei mitzvah celebrations. I did a naming with two sandakim (both grandfathers). I did a naming where the “Hebrew” name was-n’t actually Hebrew: it was a spiritual name, a passport for the individual’s religious journey. This shows our faith has the elasticity to suit all comers. I’ve learned not to bite off more than others can chew. Volunteers are hard to recruit, partly because every assignment grows and grows till it’s ten times what they thought they signed up for. Better to settle for what they’re willing to do than scold them for what they couldn’t manage. We need a cul-ture of appreciation, not a culture of nitpicking. I’ve learned to adjust program-ming around everyone’s tight schedule. Two activities the same weekend for the same constituency isn’t a great idea: people are too busy to attend both. A kid-given Sunday school sermon after a vacation isn’t a great idea: the children will have forgotten all about it over the break. And nothing draws a crowd if it conflicts with a football game. That’s West Virginia halachah! I’ve learned regional practices like stopping the funeral procession in front of the synagogue. Someone jumps out and opens the door of the building;

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4 Education: Adult & Youth

the rabbi walks to the back of the hearse and addresses a few quiet words to the deceased, telling them they will be missed. Then we get back on the road and proceed to the cemetery. I’ve learned to read between the lines, to hear what is not being said. For example, the bereaved don’t neces-sarily spell out what they need. Mourn-ers come to me with a question about Jewish practice or Jewish tradition: Rabbi, what’s the right time to plan the funeral, what’s the right process to bury the dead, what’s the right day to say Kaddish. Explicitly these are questions about halachah, religious law. But they don’t want an answer about religious law: if I give a legalistic answer, they feel unheard, unserved. If they wanted halachah, they’d go to an Orthodox rabbi; from me, they want empathy. They only ask about halachah because that’s how you start a conversation with a rabbi. I’ve learned to teach religious school by entertaining the children: if they’re bored they misbehave. Skits, or games with movement around the room, are a good way to hold the youngsters’ attention. Skits work best with silly props, funny hats, stuffed animals. How did we ever teach Bible stories without foam-rubber swords? At first I tried improvising skits on the fly: I’d tell the story and the pupils would spontaneously act it out; but this proved incoherent in practice. Eventu-ally I started publishing scripts for the skits, although this limits participation by kids who aren’t reading yet. At the same time, I’ve learned that reli-gious school has a second, implicit stu-dent body: the parents. Since Mom and Dad, sometimes Grandma and Grandpa, often sit in the classroom or assembly with the little ones, they’re getting an education too. Adults may be embar-rassed to ask questions, adults may be ashamed to admit they’re unfamiliar with the holiday or the history: but when we teach it to the kindergartners, the grownups absorb it as well. Some-times, I admit, my lesson plan is over the children’s heads. It’s really directed to the elders.

Finally, I’ve learned a simple truth about the duration of events. When I eavesdrop on the chitchat of Christians, I find that they gripe if the pastor’s sermon was “only” twenty

eous suffer. In the rabbinic literature, the sages and their wives hassle God even more, as God has inexplicably allowed the destruction of the Temple. In the oven of Achnai story, the experts disagree about a technicality of the law, and the majority prevails even though God sides with the dissenter. In the school of Rabbi Ishmael, the verse “Who is like You among the mighty” is daringly twisted to “Who is like You among the mute.” Now that’s chutz-pah!

I suggest this topic not just for laughs, although it does contain a note of hilarity. But arguing with God is also a fruitful spiritual path. God can handle our insubordination: otherwise, why did God choose a nation as stiff-necked as Israel? God just wants to be in relationship with us, and arguing is relationship. I hope everyone complet-ing this class will be more skilled than ever at debating the Almighty.

What day and time suits you best for a spring class? Some of you have regular activities on particular days of the week. I’d like to see as many of you as possible in my OLLI class, so please let me know what works in your schedule.

minutes: the reverend’s cutting corners again! But my typical sermon is about seven minutes, and no one ever seems to feel gypped. The first year I was here, we ran long on Yom Kippur after-noon and had to cut Yizkor to the bone. People did object to that – Yizkor is a rare and special connection to our dear departed – but it’s the exception that proves the rule. You will seldom hear any Jew complain that the service was too short.

Adult Education Rabbi Joe

We have no adult ed program

this winter, but I’m planning another six-session class in the spring at Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI), at Mountaineer Mall off Green Bag Road. I saw several of you at my spring and fall 2016 classes at OLLI, along with a lot of folks from the wider community.

In the spring I’d like to teach “Arguing with God,” a text-based course on disputations with our Creator. In the Bible, Sarah argues with God about fertility; Abraham argues with God about retribution; Moses, Jeremi-ah, and Jonah resist the call to prophe-cy; Job scolds God for letting the right-

On Dec. 17, a group from Bnai Mitz-vah and Beyond traveled to Fairmont to see the spectacular Festival of Lights created year-ly by the Rotary Club under the direction of Bob Hunt. After viewing the growing number of fabulous displays including several honor-ing Hanukkah and Tree of Life (see photo), the group was hosted by Lee Kass and Bob Hunt for a holiday dinner at their home. Great food and interesting discussion abounded and all appreciated the efforts of our gracious hosts! November’s social event was a screen-ing of the movie Inside Out, a humorous and thought provoking tale of growing into the teenage years. Upcoming months suggested activities include a Mountaineer basketball game, ice skating, and a spring play. All youth pre and post Bnai Mitzvah age are wel-come at all events! Margalit Persing

Bnai Mitzvah and Beyond: Festival of Lights in Fairmont

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5 Mazal Tov Shabbat with special visitors

Gerson

Gerson

Gerson Gerson

Gerson

Gerson

Gerson

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6 Mazal Tov Shabbat/Faith Snyderman

January 2016 Annabel Brazaitis Samuel Snider Lisa Stern Eva Segert Tauger and Mark Tauger Rachel Works Sylvia Cooper Ilan Wright

February 2016 Michael Berrebi Bonnie Coradetti Muriel and Bennett Millstone Lee Petsonk Adam Rosefsky Shirley Rosenbaum Eleanor and Leonard Sim-mons Ed Gerson Rich Gutmann

Mazal Tov Shabbat Friday, February 3rd

Join us as we celebrate congregants birthdays, anniversaries and other special occasions. Honorees are blessed by Rabbi Joe and get to enjoy a delicious cake compliments of Susan Brown. We try to keep the lists accurate and up-to-date. If you find a discrepancy, please let Linda Jacknowitz know:

ljacknowitz@frontier.com

We wish Faith success and happiness. We will miss her glorious voice.

Gerson

Gerson

Gerson

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7 TOL Hanukkah Festivities

Chanukkah Party Thanks

We owe you big! Kosher Kudos to:

the Latke Brigade,

potluck contributors,

everyone who helped with setup or cleanup,

hostess-in-chief Donna Bolyard-Gerson &

singing rabbi Mark Per-man.

A tasty time was had by all!

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8 Poetry Corner/ Hadassah

The Blessing of the Old Woman, the Tulip, and the Dog By ALICIA OSTRIKER To be blessed said the old woman is to live and work so hard God’s love washes right through you like milk through a cow To be blessed said the dark red tulip is to knock their eyes out with the slug of lust implied by your up-ended skirt To be blessed said the dog is to have a pinch of God inside you and all the other dogs can smell it

FLEEING THE ONCOMING WINTER - NO LONGER IN EDEN Cold came from the north. Those that could flee Made their way southward V formations in the air And by ground In groups And one by one. Those that stayed Dug in Burrowing in the earth Or building winter dens All the while stocking stores of food And as the days light grew shorter Hunkering down Steeling themselves For the tough times ahead Knowing if they could make it through This would pass. Some would make it To the rebirth When the sun would begin to rise again And the days would lengthen. And winter would come to an end. Those that had made it south would return On their own perilous journey Joining the survivors And a new cycle of life would begin. Barry Pallay Reflection December 10, 2016

Continuum: a Love Poem by Maxine Kumin going for grapes with ladder and pail in the first slashing rain of September rain steeping the dust in a joyous squelch the sky standing up like steam from a kettle of grapes at the boil wild fox grapes wickedly high tangled in must of cobweb and bug spit going for grapes year after year we two with ladder and pail stained with the rain of grapes our private language

Hadassah Hanukkah

At Hadassah’s early celebration of Hanukkah, Linda demonstrated her DIY flameless menorah.

Everyone agreed she should patent her clever de-sign. We’ll have another chance to enjoy her tal-ents at Hadassah’s Spring Fundraiser when she will show us how to decorate wine glasses. It’ll

be pre-Passover - Miriam’s cup anyone?

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9 President’s Message/Hillel/Book Launch

Jan 29, 2017. Time for some newer lead-ership. Many of today's younger genera-tion are beginning to seek wisdom else-where than in yesterday's questionable headlines, disdainful social media, and political dogma that is both half-empty and half-full.

Transition never was an option; it was always the norm. A youth once rebuked an older man as being too old to understand his problems. The man said, "You were never as old as I am; on the other hand, I was as young as you are now." See you, God willing, at the annual con-gregation meeting, January 29, 2017. Shalom - Ed Gerson

Ed Gerson

The board's day to day busi-ness on one day is purchasing prayer books and on another day buying a replacement computer. We arrange for dedicatory leaves and memorial plaques. This year we began review-ing fee structures and guidelines for religious school, and we even consid-ered High Holy Days tickets. Mem-bers and non-members benefited from

an ice cream picnic and will soon have a redesigned, and more welcoming, www.etzhaim.org website.

As for my job as president, the book project “Morgantown Jewish Heritage: An Oral History”, was pub-lished at a dramatically lower expense than previously estimated. Many peo-ple have said the book was an act of love. And it was. I've received warm and touching emails and cards from many participants. Those who I inter-viewed spoke as autobiographers. My role was as a memoirist, an extension of my former work as a portrait pho-tographer. There is no complete pho-tographic portrait, but words did add up.

Our congregation meeting is

Schmooz With Jewz @ Hillel House

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10

Invitation to a Friday night oneg

We all enjoy a tasty oneg (snack) at Friday night services, but it doesn't happen by itself. As agreed at the Feb-ruary 9 congregational meeting, each member family is encouraged to volun-teer to provide one Friday night oneg per year: two families a week. Onegs might honor a loved one’s memory, or a family birthday For the "Wine and Cheese" Shabbat, Sisterhood will provide the wine; con-gregants are invited to bring cheese and crackers. When it is a "Mazal Tov" Shabbat, Susan Brown provides a cake; a family is needed to bring other re-freshments. Food should be vegetarian. Please go to http://etzhaim.org/Oneg29.pdf for a copy of this year's oneg schedule To host (provide re-freshments), for 5776-7 please con-tact Laura Cohen, lcohenwv@gmail.com; or Richard Cohen, rpc116c@gmail.com, 304-292-3695

Share Your Simcha

Buy a Leaf on

THE SIMCHA TREE

$250/leaf $2500/Small Stone $5000/Large Stone

Contact Merle Stolzenberg

mpstolzen@yahoo.com

Remember a loved one with a

YAHRZEIT PLAQUE

$400 DONATION

Contact: Merle Stolzenberg mpstolzen@yahoo.com

Community Sharing

We note with sorrow

the passing of

Scholar Jacob Neusner

Johnny Shipley nephew of Terry Bellman Ward

Rita Brown

sister of Mildred Millstone

Steven Billauer cousin of Lee Kass

Glenn Gingold

friend of the Gingold family

Poet and songwriter Leonard Cohen

David Miller onetime leader of the Clarksburg Tree

of Life Congregation

Anna Jones grandmother of Robyn Temple-

Smolkin

Dr. Joginder "Jo" Nath friend of many at TOL

Larry Simon

nephew of Norman Lass

May their memory be a blessing

Mazal Tov Kirby Kirby Rosenbluth, a Diplomat-ic Security Agent with the U.S. State Department, was recently honored in Washington, DC, as a recipient of a 2016 Distinguished Achievement Award, given by OSAC (Overseas Se-curity Advisory Council) and ISF (International Security Foundation). These non-profit organizations are supported by public sector compa-nies like United Airlines, Bloomberg, Target, Coca-Cola, etc., and are com-mitted to "work together to ensure a safe future." The event's keynote speaker was William McRaven, current University of Texas System Chancellor and retired U.S. Navy four-star admiral and former commander of U.S. Special Operations Command.

New Directory Coming! TOL will be putting out a new membership directory in the spring. Photos for the new TOL direc-tory will be taken at TOL on April 24 and 25. Members in good standing will be contacted in early April to schedule a convenient time for their photo sessions. If you have any ques-tions, contact Gwen Rosenbluth at rosenbluthg@aol.com. Please note that only members in good standing will be included in the directory. This is also a reminder that in order to use the Tree of Life for life cycle events the family needs to be a member in good standing. If you have any questions you can contact our treasurer Linda Herbst at 304-599-6947 or at leherbst@gmail.com

Tree of Life is pleased to acknowledge Dr. Edward and

Shirley Hirsch, Dedicated Page Sponsors for the 2016

Yizkor Book.

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11 Calendar - January/February 2017

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2017 1/5/17 Thursday Rabbi’s drop-in office hours 1:00-5:00 pm

1/6/17 Friday Kabbalat Shabbat in honor of Rachel Works 7:30-9:00 pm

1/7/17 Saturday Rachel Works bat mitzvah & kiddush luncheon 10:00 am – 1:00 pm

1/12/17 Thursday Rabbi’s drop-in office hours 1:00-5:00 pm

1/13/17 Friday “It’s morning somewhere” service & oneg 7:30-9:00 pm

1/14/17 Saturday Torah study: Vaichi 10:00 am – 12:00 noon

1/19/17 Thursday Rabbi’s drop-in office hours 1:00-5:00 pm

1/20/17 Friday Potluck & short service from children’s prayerbook 6:30-8:00 pm

1/21/17 Saturday Torah study: Sh’mot 10:00 am – 12:00 noon

1/26/17 Thursday Rabbi’s drop-in office hours 1:00-5:00 pm

1/27/17 Friday Shabbat Rosh Chodesh service & oneg 7:30-9:00 pm

1/28/17 Saturday Torah study: Va-era 10:00 am – 12:00 noon

1/29/17 Sunday Tree of Life Annual Meeting 3:00 pm

2/2/17 Thursday Rabbi’s drop-in office hours 1:00-5:00 pm

2/3/17 Friday Mazzal Tov Shabbat: January-February 7:30-9:00 pm

2/4/17 Saturday Full Torah service followed by potluck kiddush 10:00 am – 1:00 pm

2/9/17 Thursday Rabbi’s drop-in office hours 1:00-5:00 pm

2/10/17 Friday Interfaith youth conference at Lakeview TBA

2/11/17 Saturday Interfaith youth conference visits TOL TBA

2/16/17 Thursday Rabbi’s drop-in office hours 1:00-5:00 pm

2/17/17 Friday Wine & cheese service 6:30-7:30 pm

2/18/17 Saturday Torah study: Yitro 10:00 am – 12:00 noon

2/23/17 Thursday Rabbi’s drop-in office hours 1:00-5:00 pm

2/24/17 Friday Schmooze with the Jewz service & potluck at TOL

(Joint program with Hillel at 242 S. High St.)

6:30-8:00 pm

2/25/17 Saturday Empty Bowls Monongalia 11:00 am – 2:30 pm

3/2/17 Thursday Rabbi’s drop-in office hours 1:00-5:00 pm

3/3/17 Friday Micro service & oneg 7:30-9:00 pm

3/4/17 Saturday Full Torah service followed by potluck kiddush 10:00 am – 1:00 pm

3/9/17 Thursday Rabbi’s drop-in office hours 1:00-5:00 pm

3/10/17 Friday Shabbat Zachor (Sabbath of Memory) service & oneg 7:30-9:00 pm

3/11/17 Saturday Sorry, no morning program 3/11/17 Saturday Purim celebration 5:00-8:00 pm

Visit http://etzhaim.org

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Tree of Life Congregation PO Box 791 Morgantown, WV 26507-0791 (304) 292-7029 http://etzhaim.org

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